Cisco, Travelers Added to Dow Industrials

Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote) and the Travelers Companies (TRV Quote) will become the newest members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on June 8, replacing General Motors (GM Quote) and Citigroup (C Quote).

Cisco's replacement of General Motors ends the automaker's nearly 84-year run as a component on the Dow. Earlier Monday, GM filed for bankruptcy protection, the largest industrial bankruptcy in U.S. history.

GM was added twice to the Dow, first for about a year and a half in 1915 and again on Aug. 31, 1925, accord to Dow Jones Indexes. The only current component with a longer history is General Electric (GE Quote), which has been a component since 1907.

The situation with GM "has left us with no choice but to remove it from the Dow," said Robert Thomson, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and editor-in-chief for all of Dow Jones. "A bankruptcy filing immediately disqualifies a stock regardless of a company's history or its role as a cultural icon."

Thomson said the selection of Cisco is fitting "because its communications and computer-networking products are vital to an economy and culture still adapting to the Information Age -- just as automobiles were essential to America in the 20th Century."

Thomson also expressed reluctance to remove Citigroup, although "it is clear that the bank is in the midst of a substantial restructuring which will see the government with a large and ongoing stake. We genuinely hope that once the bank has refashioned itself that we will again be able to consider it for inclusion. Citigroup is a renowned institution, not only in this country, but around the world."

Citigroup was added to the Dow on March 17, 1997, as Citicorp. Travelers merged with Citicorp in 1998 and was later spun off in 2002.

Thomson said that after the removal of AIG (AIG Quote) last year and the addition of Kraft Foods (KFT Quote), the financial sector was underrepresented on the Dow. The selection of Travelers corrects that deficiency, he said.

Travelers was 2.4% higher at Monday's open to $41.62, and Cisco was up 2.8% to $19.01.